John a



(No Model.)

J. A. BLAKE.

VISB.

Patented Jan. l5, 1889.

Nrrnn raras artnr rrrcn.

JOljlN A. BLAKE, OF lVATERTOlYN, NET YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE PRENTISS VlSE COMPANY, OF NENV YORK, N. Y.

VISE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,066, dated January 15, 1889.

Application tiled August 16, 1886. Serial No.2l0,990. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that l, JOHN A. BLAKE, of Vatertown, county of Jefferson, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bench-Vises, of which t-he following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has relation to that class of devices known as bench-vises and ordinarily used by metal-workers and others for clamping and holding articles in position to be worked upon.

My invention has for its obj ect the provision of simple, cheap, durable, and eiiective means for permitting one of the vise jaws or heads to be rapidly adjusted with respect to f the otherindependently of the ordinary adjusting or clamping screw .without in any way interfering` with the effective operation of the said screw. To accomplish this my improvements involve certain new and useful peculiarities of construction, relative arrangements or combinations of parts, and principles of operation, all of which will be hereinafter first fully described, and then pointed out inthe claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l is a longitudinal section and elevation of my improved vise, showing the two half-nuts in engagement with the clamping-screw and the vise as resting upon the detachable swivel-base. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the two halfnuts out of engagement with the clampingscrew, (so that the head may be rapidly moved in either direction,) omitting the swivel-base. Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4 a side elevation, of the base-piece detached. Fig. 5 is a crosssection and partial elevation upon a plane passing through the two half-nuts and through the wedge-blocks by which they are operated, the nuts being in engagement with the clamping-screw, as in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the half-nuts detached from the screw and from each other, and Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the wedge-bar and 0perating-wedges as in l and 2. Fig. S is a cross-section showing the upper nut ar- Provision has heretofore been made for Y the rapid adjustment of one of the viseheads, and vises admitting of such adjustment are known as rapid-transit vises. Single half-nuts have heretofore been arranged to be thrown in or out of engagement with the clamping-screw, and half-nuts hinged together within the structure and moving in arcs of circles have also been employed. These former constructions have failed to clamp and release the screw with that certainty, accuracy, and solidity which is necessary, especially in Vises required for heavy work or where extreme pressure is required in clamping articles between the jaws, so that while they may add to the rapidity with which the vise may e set they detract from its efficiency as a means for clamping and sustaining the work. l therefore make the two halfnuts so that together they will bear upon the screw as one whole nut, and arrange them s o that they will move toward or from the screw simultaneously in straight lines and in opposite directions, as will hereinafter appear.

ln t-he drawings, A represents the stationary head, and B the adj ustablehead, the latter being mounted upon the sliding bar O, within which the clamping-screw D is mounted and arranged to turn.

E E are the two half-nuts arranged to embrace the screwl),each half-nut being' mounted upon a stem or shank, as e e', fitted to move freely in a suitable recess provided for the Shanks in the base part of the vise. The means or mechanical device employed for moving the half nuts operates upon the shanks. In Figs. l, 2, 5, and 6 the half-nuts are moved by wedges. The shanks are provided with interior inclined channels or grooves, as at a a', tending in opposite directions--that is, one up and one down when viewed from either side.

F is a movable bar carrying the inclined pieces or wedges l) b', which wedges enter the IOO inclined channels c u. th rough tothe lron t of the vise,whcre it is within convenient reach ol' the operator, being provided with an)v suitable head, as c, and supplied with a returning spring ot' an vT it'orin, as d, and a notch or catch, as atf, by which itis held against the action ot the spring, as in rig. z.

l'he hal i`nuts being in the position. shown in Fig. l, they embrace the screw iirinly, accurately, and completely, and the screw may be employed to move the vise-head l the same as in anyY orilinary vise. To release the screw so that the head VIl may be advanced or retracted without interference or without the necessitv ot" turning the screw, the bar F is drawn ont, as in Fig. i, the inelines or wedges b (1 moving in the channels u of', causing the halI-nut lil to move oft the screw in one direction and the halt-nut E to move in the opposite direction, thus entirely disengaging the screw. Then the head l may be moved at pleasure.

The bar l maybe locked in position by bringing its notch into engagement with the wall olf the orilice through which it slides. Upon releasing bar l" the syn-ing d automaticall)Y returns it to its original. position, the wedges or inciines torcing the halinuts back to their bearings upon the screw. It the threads upon the halt-nuts do not immediatelv enter the spaeesl)etween those Vupon the screw, a very slight turn oi' the latter will permit them to do so. lhehallmits whenbrought together operate preeisel)v as a whole nut and with equal holding eilfect.

'lhe halt-nuts may be formed, as iinlicated in lfig. so that the margins on the open side The bar l" projects l holes in the vise and through corresponding perfomtions I I `in the bed-plate. A bolt, K, projects through the bedplate and receives a hand-nut, L, and washer )'I. The nose N upon the vise enters a rec Jss, N.

Having now fully` described my invention, what I claim new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

11. In a vise, and in combination with the screw thereof, a divided nut consisting oi' two vertical I v-movin seetions,cz'ich having' a rigid part extending below the screw,and an opener, as the bar F, working in recesses in the sections, substantially as described.

2. In a vise, the two halt-nuts arranged to move in parallel lines and provided with the Shanks having oppositcly-inclined channels, the sl idin g bar carrying the wedges or inclines, and the clamping-screw, combined and arranged :[or operation substantially as shown and described.

3. In, a vise, the two halt-nuts arranged to move in parallel lines and provided with the channeled shanks,the slidingbar carrying the two wedges .for engaging with the shanks and forcing the haltnuts to move sinniltaneoiislyr in opposite direetimls, a returning spring applied in connection with said bar, and the ciampiiig-screw mounted in the sliding visebar, combined and arranged substantiall)7 as shown and described.

l. In a vise, and in combination with the screw thereot, a divided nut having one section constructed to riseV and the other to tall, i and. each section having an inclined groove, 1 the two grooves run ning in opposite directions ma)v abut agz'iinst each other, orpret'erably as in Fig. H, so that oneshalif nut passes beyond i the other in the l'orm oiA a hook.

Il are bolts passing' through This latter i and their central lines crossing each other, a slide working' between the sections, provideiflV with studs working in said grooves, whereby the one section is raised and the other lowered, substantially as described.

ln testimony that l claim the foregoing l have hereunto setmv hand in the presence ot two witnesses.

JOHN A. llntlx'll. vWitnesses: (l. A. immuun',

3i. (l. Lewis. 

